Multilayered Settlements in the Ik & Belaya Rivers Interfluve: Certain Conclusions and Prospects of Studying

In the Ural and Volga forest-steppes the Ik and Belaya rivers interfluve is one of the most studied areas. It reveals numerous multilayered settlements dated the Stone Age to the late Middle Ages. Historical, geographical and paleoclimatic researches allow to conclude that since the 4th–3d millennium BC this area has been covered by broad-leaved forests and been a part of the Russian plane forest zone. The study aims to reconstruct landscape changes and attribute them chronologically to the archaeological periodisation. To achieve that, the authors have studied data from 37 multilayered settlements dated from the Mesolithic to the deep Middle Ages. Out of these settlements, nine were exposed to field research. Six settlements appear to have a cultural layer good enough for soil sampling and further palynological and soil paleological analysis. Additionally, the study samples background soil outside the cultural layer. These samples are used for comparative analysis of the soils and landscapes surrounding the ancient settlements. The fieldworks also help clarify the cultural attribution for a range of monuments. In addition, the authors suggest two hypotheses about the historical and cultural processes in the Ik and Belaya rivers interfluve during the early Iron Age. The first hypothesis claims that this area is the zone of contact between two migration flows dated the early Ananyino period. The first migration flow is attributed to the Maklasheevka culture from the Lower Kama. The other migration flow is attributed to the Ananyino (early Corded Ware) culture from the Middle Kama. Another hypothesis suggests that the late Ananyino (late Corded Ware) culture settlements are not genetically related to the Pyany Bor settlements and necropolises of the Ik and Belaya Rivers interfluve.